The area where nuclear waste water from the Fukushima plant is dumped into the Pacific Ocean – Photo: Bloomberg
After a Cabinet Council meeting, on 22 August Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed that the process of releasing waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster into the Pacific Ocean would begin on 24 August.
“If the weather and sea conditions are not a problem, we expect discharge to begin. The Japanese government will be responsible for ensuring that this proposal is implemented safely, even if it takes decades to completely dispose of the treated water,” Kishida said.
Many places oppose the discharge of nuclear waste
China strongly opposes the discharge plan and threatens to extend the ban on seafood imports from Japan. Meanwhile, several Japanese companies, including cosmetic brands, are facing consumer boycotts.
Some restaurants in Hong Kong are quick to find alternatives to seafood sourced from Japan.
Despite government support for the Japanese plan, there have been public protests in South Korea.
The response to the disaster cost Japan approximately 12 trillion yen ($83 billion).
One of the most important and controversial components in the world today is a 10 cm wide sewage pipe.
This is the pipeline that carries cooling water from the damaged reactor to the Pacific Ocean for disposal.
Pipes used to dilute wastewater at the Fukushima plant – Photo Bloomberg
Currently more than 1 million cubic meters of treated radioactive water is being stored in about 1,000 storage tanks at the plant.
The water will be treated using a filtration process called Advanced Liquid Treatment System (ALPS).
According to experts, releasing huge amounts of water is necessary as the storage tanks are estimated to reach capacity as early as 2024. On the other hand, the complete closure of the site does not allow the huge storage tanks to be filled further.
In July, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said: “The gradual discharge of treated water into the Pacific Ocean would have negligible radioactive effects on humans and the environment.” At the same time, the agency also approved the Japanese proposal after reviewing the security level for 2 years.
Water purification and discharge process
Live flounder in an aquarium filled with treated wastewater in a laboratory at the Fukushima plant in July. Photo: Bloomberg
According to Junichi Matsumoto, water management director for the ALPS system, the discharge plan will take about 30 years to release the treated water lots.
Before discharge, water goes through a basic 4-step process: measurement and verification, transfer, dilution, and discharge.
Water is pumped into the reactors to cool the reactor, then treated through the ALPS system. This step uses a series of chemical reactions to reduce the concentration of the radionuclide.
The above process cannot remove tritium – which is a weakly radioactive form of hydrogen. Although it can cause cancer at high levels, humans would need to absorb billions of units of Becquerel – a measure of radioactivity – to affect health. The concentration of water released by Tepco will be less than 1,500 becquerel/litre.
After initial treatment, the water was transferred to a flask for mixing and circulation for 144 h. The independent analyst firm Kaken Co. And Japan’s Atomic Energy Agency will then begin further testing, which could take about two months.
In the facility’s dilution area, three large pumps draw seawater mixed with the treated liquid to ensure that tritium concentrations are “much lower” than guidelines set by the Japanese government and the World Health Organization. Tepco estimates that the treated water will be diluted more than 350 times when the process is complete.
That diluted liquid then drains into a partially underground tank for further sampling. In the next stages, the water flows through a deep reservoir and then through a 1 km long 12 m deep tunnel for discharge.
The Japanese government says nuclear power plants around the world emit tritium-rich water.
For Prime Minister Kishida, it is important to address domestic and international concerns about the discharge. Notably, Japan is also considering strengthening its energy security by revitalizing the country’s nuclear power sector.
(Tagstotranslate) nuclear waste water
